The Mind Eaters, page 2
“It’s a trap,” blurted out Zarya.
“I’m counting on it,” said Avery.
“You what?”
“I have a little plan,” began Avery. “You’re going to go there tomorrow and help Jennifer with her apparent ghost problem.”
“And?” prompted Zarya, unsure she was going to like what the headmistress was planning. I’m not going to kill for her or anyone else.
“You won’t be alone. I’m coming with you.”
The last thing Zarya wanted was for Avery to come with her. This wasn’t going to end well. She quickly thought of a way to put her off. “I’m sure Jennifer won’t want onlookers coming along.”
“She won’t know…” Avery had a self-satisfied expression on her face, “… because she won’t see me or the others who’ll be there with us.”
“What do you mean?” Zarya didn’t like this one bit.
“This is a time for us to band together and help you to fight Abaddon once and for all.”
“You make it sound easy.” Zarya knew otherwise. The few times she’d gone up against him, she’d been lucky to have walked away alive. Abaddon would be better prepared to meet her, even with the support of Avery and the others here. The last thing she’d agree to was to put their lives at risk. How would things go with Avery meeting the ghost she helped to free? What if they joined forces? No, she couldn’t agree to this.
“Once we’ve helped you to send him packing, we’ll be free to focus on The Guild, ensuring they don’t take our new home away from us,” continued Avery.
“I don’t know about this.”
“Abaddon is a distraction we don’t need. If this is indeed a trap, we can be prepared and get him to pass over once and for all. Then you’ll be free to focus on really developing your potential instead of worrying when you will see him next.”
Zarya swallowed hard. Avery did have a few good points. How much better would her life be if Abaddon wasn’t in it? The thing was, she understood better than Avery realized why The Guild was coming after Avery. She’d ultimately taken something that wasn’t hers and killed to ensure she got it, and The Guild naturally would want it back. Zarya didn’t think much of the governing body of the paranormals. They didn’t stand up for her interests when she was cast out of the Witches Academy. But did that warrant stopping them from coming here? There was a lot more she needed to find out.
“It will be easy with me helping you,” said Avery in an attempt to reassure Zarya. It wasn’t working. Zarya knew the power Abaddon had. Avery didn’t.
“With Daire to help us, he might not have fangs, but his latent ability to manipulate the energies is coming along well. Then there’s Kaia. I know the friendship between you two is strained, but you’ll both have to put that aside to ensure we all work together. To make up the team, it would be good to have Pan along, nothing like a bit of animal strength to help us out.”
“No, I don’t want to risk the lives of others,” said Zarya, a sickening feeling rising within her. The last person she wanted to come along was Pan. Not now, not since they were together.
Were they? Could she say they were together after only a week, and now they were barely finding the time to see each other? All they had really shared were a few kisses, damn good kisses at that, and barely had a heart to heart together about them as a couple and their future. He had given her the box that had been her grandma’s she thought she’d lost. It had a lot of sentimental value for her. That had to mean something, didn’t it?
“You already are.” Avery’s comment drew Zarya’s attention back to reality.
“I’m not.” Zarya realized she sounded defensive, never a good thing when she talked to Avery, who had little tolerance for defiance. She didn’t want Avery to lash out at her.
“Oh, you are, by simply being here. We don’t want this Abaddon and The Guild turning up at the same time. We might not survive.”
Zarya bit her lip, stopping herself from blurting out this was Avery’s fault. Abaddon was released when Avery first opened the library after it had been sealed for so long. She just didn’t know it. Zarya didn’t want to tell her, either, not until she had learned more about Abaddon. She knew he was locked up here in the library but hadn’t managed to find the room where he’d been contained. Zarya couldn’t be sure how Avery would react to learning she was the one who released the ghost. All Avery seemed to want was to be the one in charge of the library and access the knowledge in the books. Could there be more behind Avery’s motivations?
Once more, Zarya found herself in a position where she didn’t much like her choices, but it appeared to be in her best interest to go along. At least for now. If she went to Jennifer’s place tomorrow, and it was a trap, then she’d have a chance to push Abaddon into the spirit world. Plus, Avery would be there as well, and she could do with some extra power from another witch. As much as she disliked the plan, there was a glimmer of it working. It was worth giving it a go.
Zarya took a deep breath. “Fine, I’ll make sure I’m ready to hunt Abaddon tomorrow.”
“Good.” Avery’s smile was unnerving. “Let’s go through a few different methods you have when going up against powerful ghosts and see if we can up your skill set a few levels.”
“I’d like my cell back.” She held out her hand, expecting Avery to give it back.
“No way. I want to know if Jennifer calls back or not, and based on past experience with you, I’m not about to rely on you to tell me if anything changes or not. This is too important. This is the chance to eliminate Abaddon and get on with more important things.”
Zarya was about to argue. Her life would be so much less complicated without the evil ghost after her. But what else was there that was more threatening? What was it that Avery wasn’t telling her?
“You want to argue, then go ahead, and I’ll add more time to your training session, and then perhaps we can go and see Sakura and show her how punishment is dealt out around here.”
Zarya swallowed hard against the rising anger. The argument wasn’t worth it. She didn’t want to see the witch who used to torment her, even if her magic was gone and she was chained up. Sakura was the only one who didn’t get the cure for the effects of the Spell Thieves. Raiden had given her something that he and Kaia had concocted to ensure she wasn’t infectious, but in an attempt to keep her here for whatever reason Avery wanted, she remained without her magic.
“Let’s get started,” Zarya said tightly. She didn’t need her cell anyway. It wasn’t as if she had friends or family about to ring her. The only friends she had were here in the Academy, and one had already betrayed her.
“Wise choice.” Avery slipped the phone in the back pocket of her tight pants. “Ready?”
Zarya nodded. Whether she liked it or not or wanted to do this, she was going ghost hunting. For the exact ghost she wanted to avoid.
PANGUAR
Panguar stood outside of the cage in the garden shed at the back of the library, his clothes crumpled in a mess on the dirty ground to the side. He stood naked in the fading afternoon light. Cold air filtered through the gaps between the wooden boards that constructed the old shed. His skin prickled, but he didn’t put his clothes on. Bare feet flat on the dirt gave him a connection to the earth and helped him to remain centered on what he was about to try.
A glance to the corner gave him some comfort. The door was open, and the key was in the lock, his safety net in case things went wrong this afternoon.
Pan’s arms by his sides, he wriggled his fingers, getting ready both mentally and physically. He knew he could do this, and this was merely a trial to be sure. When he saved Zarya from the witches attacking her, he transformed only partly. Though when back at the library, he had to go here to the cage and be contained as he completed the transformation. The experience had given him a taste of what it meant if he could step up and shift into his animal self on command instead of allowing that side to control him. His past alpha pack leader, Blaez, would be eating his own words if he could see him now. Pan’s shoulder ached at the thought of his pack and the beating Blaez had given him, the previous injury a permanent reminder of his past indiscretions. He could see how reckless he’d been now as a young wolf, desperate to get his own pack and going after the alpha’s mate, Freki.
Since coming here to the Lost Souls Academy, his soul had matured. There were some things he wasn’t going to let go of. Zarya was one of them now he could claim her, though she wasn’t his mate yet. Would she want to become a wolf? Or would it matter if she didn’t? Pan hated such thoughts conflicting in his mind. He also wanted his own pack, that vision hadn’t changed. All that had happened recently was that he was taking responsibility of his power and finally getting Zarya to connect with him.
A shiver went through him as if his inner animal power wanted to surface straight away. It was time for him to test how much control he really had. Now, more than ever, there was a need for him to master his transformation. He wanted to be able to switch into being a wolf on his command as well as being able to only go partway into the transformation, then revert back to his human form. He was in charge of the security here at the Academy, and now there was a real reason to take this position seriously—the threat from Abaddon and The Guild. Though he didn’t understand why The Guild would be a threat, it was something Avery said to him. He was more of a physical sort of guy. Regardless, he couldn’t afford to be complacent or to hold on to his childish beliefs.
There were other lives at risk, people he cared about, and not just Zarya. The others here had become, in a sense, his pack. Was this it? Could the other lost souls at the Academy actually be the pack he’d been wanting? He wasn’t sure it would be enough. Despite this, there was a strong sense of desire to protect those here, even the vampire, Daire, who he disliked the most, followed closely by Quari. Two vampires in the Academy were two too many. That said, he still had a sense of wanting to protect all the students here and keep them safe. It was his duty.
He’d already failed at this by attempting to recruit Holly into the Lost Souls Academy. She’d been a spy from The Guild, the overarching group which governed all who were paranormals. If he’d been on his game, then he wouldn’t have put everyone at risk. Holly was now a statue, the pain clear on her face when she was changed by Avery and now stood in the foyer area of the library. It was a reminder to him every time he went down to the basement to train, to go to the kitchen for a meal or outside to the garden shed, or to Avery’s office to debrief the day’s security and plan for potential attacks. He saw Holly’s form in stone, numerous times a day. Every time, the guilt pricked at him sharply. There was no way he was going to make that mistake again.
Finally, he was practicing when and how he transformed and controlling the process down to the second, despite his reservations it was becoming easier. For the last week, he’d been taking whatever spare time he had and coming here to the garden shed. Then he’d lock himself in the cage and transform. At first, he’d only managed to transform after hours of trying. Slowly, the time reduced, and as it did, he also began allowing himself to transform part of the way. Stopping when the wolf pelt began to grow through his human skin, then before his nails changed to claws, and another time just after his teeth elongated and sharpened into their wolf form and then returning to his human form. It was leaving him exhausted but also strengthening him at the same time.
Coming here and practicing had taken more self-control than he thought he possessed. It directly took away time that he could’ve spent with Zarya. They’d barely seen each other since her magic returned, and when they did, they weren’t alone for long. His heart ached for more. He also wanted to be sure he was in control of his wolf-side. The last thing he wanted to do was to hurt her if he, for whatever reason, changed into a wolf.
He could master the transformation more than he could at any other time in his life. There was only one big step to try now.
Pan took a deep breath, slowing his pulse. He connected to the animal power welling inside of him. Instead of allowing it to break free like he would have in the past, he kept it contained, only permitting a small amount to surface enough to change his nails to claws.
He paused, not allowing any more change to happen. Confidence surged through him as he realized this part had come easily.
Pan allowed a further wave of animal power to rush through him. He could feel his pelt growing a thick fur, and it was keeping the late autumn chill from him. It felt great. Then he allowed some more change to happen. His teeth grew sharp and strong, ready to rip flesh when in need of a meal. His bones cracked and broke, reforming into the wolf skeleton as he permitted himself to fully transform. It felt like an hour had passed, but in reality, it was only seconds. In time, he’d focus on transforming much quicker and then back again to achieve it in the blink of an eye.
He allowed himself to stretch in wolf form, keeping a tenuous thread to his human awareness, so he wasn’t completely lost in the animal perspective. The cage was a temptation to send him on a rampage as his animal side protested at seeing its prison. Pan easily kept himself in check and didn’t act on the impulse rising within him.
Achieving the basic control he wanted, Pan switched back to his human form. He jumped and fist-punched the air yelling in delight. He had done it.
Pan’s human skin prickled with a sense he was being watched. He turned around to face the door to see Kaia standing in the doorway, eyes widened, mouth ajar, looking pale enough to faint.
“You should put some clothes on,” said Kaia as she quickly looked away.
“You should knock before coming in here,” grumbled Pan.
“I didn’t think I’d see…”
Pan growled softly. This was his time for himself, and he didn’t want others knowing his business. He hadn’t even told Zarya.
“Why are you here?” asked Pan abruptly, as he bent down and grabbed his jeans, slipping them on quickly.
“Avery wants you.”
“She sent you?” Avery usually sent Crowe when she needed him. The ghost was very efficient at finding people. It was odd she’d sent Kaia.
“She did. Apparently, Crowe’s busy doing something else.” Kaia shrugged. She rested her palm that was burning in her other hand as if it would give comfort. The burning sensation was because she broke the spell Zarya had made between the three of them after the very first attack Abaddon had made on the ghost hunter back in her apartment when getting her belongings. They’d both wanted to tell Avery what had happened, but Zarya had convinced them otherwise. Pan had no intention of telling Avery anything and ending up in constant burning pain like Kaia was. Her punishment was for a year and a day if she didn’t go mad beforehand. Already there were dark shadows under her eyes, and her skin tone was taking on a paler shade, even for a fae.
Pan pulled his white T-shirt over his head. What on earth did Avery want with him now? It irritated him a bit having been called like this, more so that he was caught practicing. He didn’t want an audience. He moved his head side to side, cracking his neck, releasing some of the pressure building between bones from the high number of transformations he’d been doing. Immediately, he felt better.
He slipped on his sneakers, glaring at Kaia, who was still lingering. It would be better if she’d left. “I’m not putting on a show.”
Kaia looked away, her cheeks blushing. She wore a long flowing dress, the material hanging gracefully around her slender body. “I wasn’t…”
They’d been through a lot together, all since coming here to the Lost Souls Academy, especially since they knew more than most around here about Abaddon. It was all becoming a bit of a burden. One he was prepared to carry, he reminded himself.
He sighed heavily. “What’s on your mind, Kaia?”
She looked down at her small feet, her tightly curled dark hair falling around her face giving her a sense of vulnerability, but Pan knew she was as strong as he was with the help of magic.
“Do you think Zarya will talk to me again?”
Pan shrugged. “No idea.”
“I didn’t mean to betray her, you know.”
“What about me? I’m part of this agreement, too.” He stepped closer to her.
She looked up, and her dark eyes were piercing with intensity. “You, too, I’m sorry. I really am.”
Pan nodded. He believed her. She only got away with telling for a short time because, without her magic, Zarya’s spell didn’t work. Of course, that all changed when she got her magic back, and now Kaia paid the penalty of speaking out. He reached out and put his hand on her shoulder.
“You’ll survive this year,” he said confidently. “Hang in there.” He might train the others here in self-defense but motivating with words wasn’t his style.
“Maybe.” Tears welled in her eyes.
“You have to. You were unlucky, I suppose. We all wanted to tell Avery at some point.”
“I was the only one who did. I shouldn’t have, but I really thought it was going to help get her magic back.”
Pan shook his head. “You took a guess, and you tried to help, but it didn’t work out.”
“Yeah, yeah, and now I’m paying the price.”
“You’ll get through it.”
Kaia sighed, and Pan detected doubt. It might look like a simple red circle on her palm, but the pain was very real.
“Could you do something for me?” Kaia’s voice softened to a whisper.
Pan held his breath. What was she going to ask of him? The tightness growing in his gut caused him to think that it would be something he didn’t want to do.
